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The Kendall Jenner Pepsi Ad Clearly Has Admirable Intentions

06 April 2017

The Kendall Jenner Pepsi ad has faced an almighty backlash on social media after being accused of undermining the Black Lives Matter movement and the seriousness of police brutality, of co-opting the struggles of activists and generally being so farcical that even some of her own loyal following have erupted with derision.

The ad follows Jenner modelling at a shoot before being convinced to join a protest, where crowds of activists are marching for “love” and for people to “join the conversation”. She then approaches riot police with nothing more than a knowing smirk and a Pepsi, and behold, the officer cracks the can, the crowd cheers and all is made right with the world.

Is it ridiculous? Sure, but it’s hardly abhorrent trash. You can see what the marketing execs at Pepsi were trying to do.

Research from journals like Psychological Bulletin has shown that sex no longer sells. A barely-dressed Britney Spears may have been the way to consumer’s hearts 15 years ago, but this is 2017 and the soft drink giant has had to change tack. Young people today are motivated by activism and notions of social good. Pepsi believe the way to win over a young, politically active demographic is to choose a scenario that speaks to them. Clearly, this approach has backfired.

It's unlikely that Pepsi is trying to say that a soft drink and a privileged model can solve racial inequality, corruption and the rest of the world’s ills. For one, protest scenes are a trope often used in music videos, and Kendall Jenner’s Pepsi ad isn’t all that different. Yes, it's - as put by American GQ - "ridiculously unwoke" and yes, it's "cloying", nonsensical and embarrassing. But isn't attempting to engage better than happily ignoring the appalling state of the world we live in today?

Secondly, models such as Bella Hadid and Zoë Kravitz have attended anti-Trump rallies, and evidently Pepsi tried to get onboard the zeitgeist. The fashion industry has become a serious space for political debate and mobilisation, and the corporation wants a piece of that. Advertisers tapping into the most emotive societal issues is nothing new, from banks claiming their primary aim is to “bring people together”, to car companies using the moment new life comes into the world to sell a new model. Corporate advertising is nothing if not contentious and sometimes they get it wrong, à la Kendall Jenner's Pepsi ad.

At least Pepsi has tried to do something a little different by attempting to spread a positive message. The ad wants to engage young people by making protests look fun, and in an age of Trump, climate change and grievous social inequalities, is that really a bad thing? If corporate giants are going to spend millions on marketing, at least addressing social and political issues can be considered an admirable intention. Let’s face it, anything based around social-media queen Kendall Jenner could have been a lot more vacuous.

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